A Solar Technology Seeks Its Day in the Sun

By John Collins Rudolph in the New York Times, November 17 2009

For years, concentrating photovoltaic technology, which uses mirrors or lenses to focus the sun’s rays on small, high-efficiency solar panels, has tantalized researchers as a potential source of low-cost, utility-scale solar power.

Under the right conditions, the technology could deliver cheaper power than conventional photovoltaics, while using considerably less land than thin-film solar panels.

“It is projected to have lower costs than conventional photovoltaics in sunny areas,” said Daniel Friedman, a solar energy researcher at the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. “I don’t think that’s too controversial.”